Parashat Shelah Lekha
This week’s teaching commentary was prepared by Ruby A. Simon, M.D. Bat Kol alumna 2007,2008
Week of 30 May - 5 June
Torah Portion: Num. 13:1 - 15:41
Haftarah: Josh. 2:1-24
Readings for Sunday:
In this week’s parashah, twelve distinguished leaders were sent by Moses to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, the Promised Land. What seems to be a simple and reasonable mission turned into a catastrophe-“for one generation’s loss of the land, for forty years of wandering through the wilderness, and for Moses’ untimely demise just beyond the border of the land” (Eskenazi p,886). What went wrong?
Shelah lekha, ‘send for yourself” or “go ahead, send them”, implies that it was not God who ordered Moses to send men to scout the territory but it was their own decision. “I (God) Myself, have not given you such order, but if you want, send… I told them that it was good, as it is written; “I shall bring you up from Egyptian affliction to a land flowing with milk and honey”(Leibowitz p.135). What was wrong with them taking initiative? They were testing the truth of God’s words.
After 40 days the scouts went straight to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community bringing with them the fruit of the land (13:26). Indeed “the land is flowing with milk and honey”. They had carried Moses instruction, gave the desired information on the land and its inhabitants and their cities. What then was wrong with their report? Isaac Arama, a Spanish commentator, avers that their crime is that instead of acting as neutral observers stating only the facts, they gave their opinions as well. (Leiboiwitz p.139). They qualified the conditions of what they saw by the key word “never-the-less”, they are “fierce people”, and have “large and fortified cities”(13:28). Their mandate was to survey the land and not engage in espionage (Eskenazi p 872). Except for Caleb and Joshua, the optimistic leaders who said “do not be afraid of the people of the land” (14:9), the ten gave conflicting and scary interpretations, “a land that devours those living in it…all people we saw there are of great stature” (13:32); and distorted imagery of giants and “we seemed like grasshoppers in our eyes and we looked the same to them” (13:33). It was not only a classic case of failure of nerve (Fox p.724), and slander (13:36) but they had also rejected the Promised Land (14:31). Terrified by what they heard from the ten, the Israelites cried out in fear and rebelled against Moses and Aaron (14:2) and grumbled against God (14:3). Such failure of trust in God equals the insult of the Golden Calf and leads God to reject this first generation as inheritors of the land. (Eskenazi p.280). God was prepared to strike them down with pestilence and disown them (14:12) but Moses interceded on their behalf. God forgave and decided not to destroy the whole people, but the sin of the ten scouts who incited the rebellion is too grave to mitigate (Eskenazi p.879) they died in a plague. Not only did they make faulty assumptions, their disposition as leaders dispirited the community of the chosen people God.
The parashat is a multilayered story of FAITH. Shelah lekha is an expression of God’s faith in human beings, making room for one to choose the path one wishes to pursue; that of faith and confidence in oneself and trust in other people to overcome their own challenges.
For Reflection and Discussion: 1. Reflect on experiences when we were driven by fear to exaggerate or twist the stories to protect ourselves 2.How do we inspire others to do better than they think they can when we ourselves think less of ourselves. 3.Do we project enthusiasm and optimism, or do we infect others with our own insecurities and cynicism
Bibliography: Goldstein, ed., The Women's Torah Commentary (Jewish Lights Publishing, Vermont, 2000); Fox, The Five Books of Moses, (NY1995); Leibowitz, Studies in Bamidbar, Numbers (Jerusalem); Eskenazi ed The Torah, A Women’s Commentary (New York, 2008)
